Vice: Who Killed Rollerblading?

[Atiba Applebum]

Interesting video about the death of mainstream rollerblading.   Features Dave Carnie/Big Brother heavily and the Pyrrhic victory of skateboarding’s lasting success when compared to the tight culture circle rollerblading’s been allowed to maintain

[Bupstop]

That was pretty interesting. I’ve never really thought about why it died out and who knows how accurate this all is. It was crazy that for a second there rolllerblading was everywhere and then it was gone. I haven’t seen one for years but I did see a rollerblader at my local park a few months ago and I thought he was pretty cool for doing it. I still think the sound of rollerblading is the worst. That thumping sound.

[Skatophile]

I don't know if rollerblading is really back since I haven't seen any kids picking it up but there's clearly a resurgence in my area with all the old rollerbladers getting back into it. Average age is like 40.

I personally back it. I prefer having some presence at the park than being the only adult with a few annoying kids who ride around on scooters without even trying to push it.

Skateboarding is next to die for sure. How do I know? On a recent saturday afternoon at the park, I was the youngest guy out of 7-8 people. I am 38 years old.

[Texas_Tone]

I don't know if rollerblading is really back since I haven't seen any kids picking it up but there's clearly a resurgence in my area with all the old rollerbladers getting back into it. Average age is like 40.

I personally back it. I prefer having some presence at the park than being the only adult with a few annoying kids who ride around on scooters without even trying to push it.

Skateboarding is next to die for sure. How do I know? On a recent saturday afternoon at the park, I was the youngest guy out of 7-8 people. I am 38 years old.

W

Where do you live?

[rocklobster]

I don't know if rollerblading is really back since I haven't seen any kids picking it up but there's clearly a resurgence in my area with all the old rollerbladers getting back into it. Average age is like 40.

Same here, average age is late 30s to 40s, almost never seen new blood. There's a mom who did it in her youth and has been actively bringing her 2 kids to the park every weekend, it's fun to see them do it as a family.

[S.]

Unfortunately, the the thick coat of wax on the coping of my local bowl indicates that rollerblading is still very much alive.

[DCLOVE]

Fitting they dropped this during pride month.

[spooky electric]

i started watching this but couldn't finish it.

i'm not anti-rollerblading in the hate crime kind of way that people were back in the day, but it really doesn't hold my attention. it's so unsatisfying to look at.

could anyone sum up what their conclusion was?

[Sleazy]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ezu2Rp98Qfk

[MOE SYZLAK]

i started watching this but couldn't finish it.

i'm not anti-rollerblading in the hate crime kind of way that people were back in the day, but it really doesn't hold my attention. it's so unsatisfying to look at.

could anyone sum up what their conclusion was?

Dave Carney was a tool and will always be a tool ... pretty much the general theme

[Noble Experiment]

"Rollerblading killed rollerblading"

[apport]

this made me feel kinda bad for how mean my friends and i were to the rollerbladers at school, like to the point of physical fighting. it’s just so childish. the irony of getting called gay for skating, and turning around and being even more homophobic to kids because they rollerbladed.

[Sondor]

always prefered bladers to bmx riders

[kookdusoleil]

The bladers in my hometown were cool. No beef whatsoever. We would often see each other at the same spots and end up skating together. They knew how to get all the drugs, too, if you were into that. Idk, I enjoyed them jumping on rails skateboarders couldn’t touch. I thought it was fun to watch.

[alien porkchop]

M

mainstream rolling blading?

[TheLurper]

It is disappointing to look back at how homophobic skateboarding was for so long. Like, whatever excuse everyone wants to make up, regularly insulting people with slurs is homophobic.

Also, man, I remember working at a private skatepark; we'd have a rollerblading night. It was always the worst night to work. There was always drama and they acted like toddlers.

BMX night was cool though. Those dudes were fun to hang out with and most were pretty solid skateboarders.

Also, I remember the same BMXers got into it with one of the local cool guy assholes at a public skate park one night. Dude was really talented, but at 28ish years old, he'd pick fights with 10-year-olds; he was a dick to everyone who wasn't good; he expected me to get him a discount on his phone plan even after being a jerk to me on a regular basis; and was an all around douche. He picked a fight with the BMXers who were all pretty ripped and they didn't take his shit. They pushed him into a pay phone and threw trash at him until he skated away. It was amazing.

[Lame_Fella]

Kinda funny that the beef seemed pretty one sided from the professional aspect. Like they knew Big Brother was gonna shit on them and just went with it because they thought it was funny too.

I don’t like bladers at the park due to the copious amounts of wax but I do respect that they have to fully commit to their landing or they’re done for.

[TwisT]

Kinda funny that the beef seemed pretty one sided from the professional aspect. Like they knew Big Brother was gonna shit on them and just went with it because they thought it was funny too.

I don’t like bladers at the park due to the copious amounts of wax but I do respect that they have to fully commit to their landing or they’re done for.

The roller bladers here mainly congregate at one park. They have pvc/wood mounts for the ledges. If I end up at the park on during one of their party’s. I just let em have it.

Here’s an almost 5million view video about the same subject that came out 4 years ago. It’s pretty good
https://youtu.be/xVB6ef9JWSk?si=vsgdBr7pBLKTyAk7

[zapruder]

Carnie comes off as a kook in this one to me. the Rollerblade brand is based in Minnesota (skiing, hockey connection) and the scene here in Minneapolis is alive and well. those guys organize weekly rides at different parks and spots, and a ton of people show up. always seemed like their scene was more welcoming and supportive of the outsiders, everything skateboarding claims to be.

I used to be a hater but at a certain point (trapped in the same indoor park all year) realized we're all chasing the same stoke just on different wheels. luckily we're at the point where a lot of the beef has been squashed and we're sharing spots with each other.

it's pretty rad except ironically the people that made me hate wax don't put lacquer on new ledges.

the kink to drop at 3:20 was the stuff of legend growing up in the eastern suburbs. Jeph is awesome, he pulls up to premieres and buys the videos and has been genuinely wonderful

[what is wrong with you]

i found myself in a rollerblading rabbit hole a couple of years back… i found this one dude brian shima and he was fucking sick

don’t know the trick names and will not learn them but the footy speaks for itself… i think its a rung above bmx for sure

[MOE SYZLAK]

Rollerblading fucking rules
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DH7H1zXuUhK/?igsh=MXExNTZqMHJpYzhyZA==

[backside_reacharound]

You guys are insane. Rollerblading is just like scooter kids: they can definitely do some gnarly shit but aesthetically it sucks so brutally hard that the gnarly shit doesn't even matter. Even the ugliest skateboarding looks MILES better than the best rollerblading. Good for them for doing what they like, but it's terrible looking and because of that it can't ever be cool.

[Cuban_Lynx]

i found myself in a rollerblading rabbit hole a couple of years back… i found this one dude brian shima and he was fucking sick

don’t know the trick names and will not learn them but the footy speaks for itself… i think its a rung above bmx for sure

Editing was offensive, but damn, dude did Leap of Faith!

I think Jordan Taylor has brought us full circle on skateboarding’s acceptance of rollerblading.

[Atiba Applebum]

My friend Connor:

http://www.instagram.com/reel/DRufMdoDBe8/
 And

[backside_frontside]

My takeaways from this are…

Dave Carny is the original edgelord and comes off as a massive asshole. “Stay outta my park” lol you haven’t even touched a skateboard in 25 years

Rollerblading was way more accepting as a culture than skating. A woman running the main source of media for the culture and a black woman pro? Unheard of and ahead of their time, which makes the skate scene look like a bunch of assholes.

Wish they would’ve mention those Japanese brothers who dominated the Xgames vert contests back in the day. I get this was a US-centric piece tho. I remember watching those dudes doing 1080s thinking it was pretty sick.

It’s gotta be hard out there to still be a rollerblader in 2026 so I respect them for their dedication

[Atiba Applebum]

It looked like there was that Powell swirl logo in that Senate ad they showed.   Were they under the same distribution/owner?

[QixHexagon]

I watched everything. I don't have anything clever or insightful to say other than some of the clips (especially towards the end) were really sick. I had no idea someone could grind rollerblades like that guy smoking the cigarette

[ChuckRamone]

this made me feel kinda bad for how mean my friends and i were to the rollerbladers at school, like to the point of physical fighting. it’s just so childish. the irony of getting called gay for skating, and turning around and being even more homophobic to kids because they rollerbladed.

I was gonna comment the same thing about the irony of being called skater fags then doing the same thing to rollerbladers. There's gotta be a psychological term for that like projection or displacement. Admittedly, I was a hater back then because it was part of the culture, and rollerblading and scootering look fun to do, but aesthetically speaking skateboarding is still superior. That doesn't mean we should bully other people for their different hobbies though.

[Benicio El Toro]

Angie Walton is a badass

[WavyDavy]

Wasn't there already a documentary on YouTube about the same topic some years ago?